Time
by Bluenara
Summary: One day, Sakura suddenly disappeared. When she returned to Konoha, many things had changed. The gears of time never stop spinning, and Team Seven was abruptly thrown into chaos, forced to keep moving forward. If only things were easy... [AU-ish, half angst and half fluffy humor.]
1. 00:00:00

**Note:** an idea I recently polished. Will be short, with 200-500 word updates and fast-paced. Will contain small scenes each time, the rest is up to your imagination. Cheerps!

 **Word-count:** ~14K

 **Chapters:** 50

* * *

 _If only things were easy..._

* * *

That's what he thought to himself, when they told him one of his students had gone missing. He asked which one, and they told him it was the girl. Of course, it couldn't be the strong one or the resilient one. No, it had to be the weak one - he hadn't trained her to be a frontline combatant… even less, to resist torture.

A small part of him hoped that the peace would last long enough to take it easy, but she paid for his mistake. Perhaps there was guilt lying underneath… but he wanted to keep her safe. A good ninja doesn't make the same mistake twice.

He blamed himself, of course, but his students thought otherwise when he told them. Apparently, the excuse of "she's sick" didn't work - the fox boy snuck into her house to make sure she was alright, after the third day, and he only found her parents crying. It was strange, for the blond. He had seen many other orphans, but never grown adults openly mourning the loss of their child.

The boy and his teammate declared a truce to work together, until they managed to finally get a response from their team leader. She had been kidnapped. No one was exactly sure why. Sakura Haruno had merely disappeared, and the reason wasn't known. The two kids looked at each other, sharing an understanding glance. They knew something he didn't, but they seemed even more determined now.

It was strangely heartwarming - the fanboy and the aloof prodigy, who usually bickered amongst themselves, teamed up once more to try and convince their sensei to rescue her.

He said no. And his tone was particularly harsh when he enunciated "Itachi".


	2. 00:00:37

They were amid training. It had developed into a strange competition to see who could cause the biggest amount of damage. Sasuke merely ignored the world around him, but it only worked for about thirty-seven seconds. At the mark of sixteen, Naruto noticed what he was doing, shook his head and promised to himself that he wouldn't be ignored. Especially not by the teme.

By twenty-three, Sasuke was flying through the air, caught off-guard by the blond's surprise attack. They stared at each other, both angry and anxious. The fox boy's glare was defiant and smug. The Uchiha was confused for a split second, but then he too shook his head and charged against his teammate.

Kakashi gave up trying to stop them a while ago. It wasn't because he thought they could get it their way, but because he knew better. If they did these exercises, competing against each other mercilessly, they would have their minds off Sakura. And later on, they would be too tired to muse about it before their sleep. He also got to read porn while no one was annoying him, so that was nice. He, too, needed something to distract him.


	3. 5 months

They brought her back five months later. It took about forty seconds for her team to rush into the hospital when they were told, after dropping whatever they had been doing. Someone even remembered to buy flowers - probably Kakashi. He needed to have a very serious talk with Sakura.

Hours later, the silver-haired man was taken aside by an exhausted medic. Only weeks of preparing himself for the worst kept the shinobi from having a very bad reaction, when he was told the news. There was little to nothing of his student, who was now resting on a bed behind the door of her room.

She didn't react to any sort of external stimulation. She could see, hear and move - yet she merely let herself be taken care of by the hospital staff. Not a single word, nothing different in her plain expression. She was just sort of… there. Mental probing had yielded no results. In fact, the Yamaka who performed it was literally kicked out of her mind, something unheard of.

She would obey commands immediately, without complaint or change in her demeanor. Even when she was asked to do something that should otherwise be felt as crippling or painful, or just plain impossible, she showed no inhibition.

The only thing she wouldn't do was talk, and as noticed by some of the medics, she would also avoid looking at someone directly in the eye. No other reactions were observed, that showed some sort of spirit behind those glassy green eyes of hers.

She had simply walked back to Konoha, as if nothing happened. Her clothes were foreign and didn't provide information about where did she come from. When the shinobi on patrol found her, she didn't attempt resistance. And so she ended up at the hospital, her return bringing many more questions than answers, and barely relieving at all.

The truth was that no one knew what was actually wrong with her. Not a single scar, either, external or internal. Yet everyone could tell that something was extremely messed up, but how to find out what, when all of the tests showed useless results?


	4. (Seven)

Her teammates didn't seem to know how to react. The worst they had expected was a teary-eyed Sakura, who had surely missed them very much. Naruto even hoped for a display of love - Sasuke reluctantly agreed with himself that he'd tolerate one hug. They merely froze and stared at her.

Sakura didn't show any signs of recognising either of them. In fact, there was no reaction at all. Family, friends and acquaintances - many tried to get a response, under careful study of the doctors, but none did. Everyone was worried for a while, condolences being flung around, mostly to her parents and team.

Naruto was extremely pissed, because they talked as if she was dead. Much to his dismay, most of people started to move on, as if she had indeed passed away. He refused to let her memory die, and insisted on dragging his team to her hospital room at least once a day. Most of the time, Kakashi had already been there by the time he found Sasuke, who seemed very intent on charring a training ground until there were only ashes left.

Her father sunk into alcoholism and commonplace fights with the girl's mother, who was deep into denial and barely left her room. Team Seven never actually saw her, but they knew Ino visited because of the delicately arranged flower bouquets that were always in the pinkette's room, changed a few times a week.

Lee was so hell-bent on training that he actually ended up in his own hospital room, more than once. He seemingly didn't have it in him to sulk beside her, but sometimes people assured the tears rolling down his face, after a particularly exhaustive training session, weren't just from sweat. All of his phrases now made a reference to the pink girl who, unbeknownst to it all, was still lying on a hospital bed.


	5. 00:00:32

Nine months, three weeks and four days. All that time, since she disappeared, and it was as if she had never truly come back. Kakashi sat by Sakura's bed, muttering apologies in a very low voice. There had been talks of putting her down. Her father had been found hanging from a tree and her mother merely starved away, bunked up in the girl's room until the very end.

She had shown no signs of progress. In fact, shortly after she was brought in, she also stopped responding to commands. There was no apparent reason for the change, and it was the only thing that had showed a difference in all this time. For what it mattered to the world, Sakura Haruno was as good as dead, and no one seemed to really know what to do with her.

It was a thing no one wanted to talk about, something that had been swept under a rug and left there, unattended, for all this time. Yet it was clear her chances for ever "waking up" were basically non-existent. The world had moved on and soon, the last people who vowed for her would be forced to follow suit.

He visited religiously, and so did Naruto and Sasuke. Even after the whole debacle of getting a new Hokage and the Uchiha's deals with the seal on his neck, they were still anchored to her. Nothing would pry away her memory from them, and the Hatake could tell that like him, they would be dragged down to mourn for her every day of their lives.

Regret, sadness, pain and loss. Naruto had outright rejected little Hinata's affections, becoming very intolerant of any mention of relationship. On his side, Sasuke had nearly driven himself to collapses several times, due to an amount of training that even Lee considered impressing.

For what it mattered on the bureaucracy of the shinobi world, Kakashi was now Sakura's caretaker - the decision was up to him. And when he saw what his team was becoming, he knew what had to be done. He would never be able to shake off the weight off his shoulders, and all of them would have to carry a burden in their hearts… but her memory was dragging them down. At least, for the sake of his remaining two students, he had to let go.

It felt like killing Rin once more, but at least this time… he would be able to save the rest of his team.

So here he was, as the last dying traces of sunlight diminished ever so slowly, saying farewell to Sakura Haruno. She merely stared ahead, blinking every thirty-two seconds, in a way so calculated and mechanical that it felt lifeless. Distantly, he heard the crash of something against glass. Probably Naruto.

When he stepped out of the room, he would never see her again. Perhaps she died a long time ago, or so he hoped. The medics had been clear that she was essentially in a coma, albeit a very particular one. If life support was retired, she would merely wither and die. Just like a spring flower once the season is over.

Kakashi stood up. He lifted his headband slowly, letting his Sharingan eye take in the image of his student. She would probably call him a perverted creep if she was awake, but he had committed to never letting her memory fade away. He stood at the foot of the bed and reluctantly pried his gaze away from the window, to her face.

Red met green, for the last time.

A nagging thought started to creep into his conscious mind, but he couldn't truly pinpoint it. It was something so minor... He decided to wait and watch.

A whole minute had passed, and she still hadn't blinked. Two minutes. Three. One of the machines connected to her beeped insistently, to indicate that her heartbeat was steadily speeding up into palpitation levels.

His eyes widened a fraction of an inch.


	6. 00:04:28

The medics were flabbergasted. After trying all sorts of tests on Sakura, what made her finally react had been the Sharingan. They were very minor changes, but their analysis was thorough and detected even the slightest variation in her status.

She tensed up, halted her calm breathing and had her heartbeat speed up considerably, as long as her eyes met with the kekkei genkai that Kakashi wielded. She actually stared blankly as long as he was within viewing range. Once he was out of sight, she would go back to her usual state.

Suddenly, the girl was receiving an impressive amount of attention, and was even brought to a room where she could be studied properly. After her went her team, composed of secretly anxious males who weren't sure if they dared to hope. There weren't any more changes to her state, but it was clear she wasn't a complete vegetable.

Someone had the idea of exposing her to Sasuke's Sharingan, the only other one in Konoha's possession. If the medics had expected something, it definitely wasn't what they got.

She screamed. Her face was a reflection of the most pure horror, and although her voice was hoarse, it was so sudden and strong that many of the present people flinched. Naruto was the one who broke Sasuke's shocked trance and made him stop looking at her, by yelling at him and throwing a punch in his general direction.

The rest of the room needed four minutes and twenty-eight seconds to recover the ability to move, even after the girl's voice was gone.


	7. (Two)

Both Kakashi and Sasuke seized each other up in a staring contest, and neither of them seemed to be willing to give it up. They wanted their personal question answered in the first place, urgency and anger boiling underneath their hardened gazes. Naruto's eyes were nearly shining red, his guttural growl bringing his team's attention to him. Kakashi conceded. After all, there wasn't much pride in saying he'd won this stupid crusade against an Uchiha.

It had been a thoughtless mistake to involve Itachi's name in this whole debacle, all these months ago. No, not that - reckless. Shinobi were taught to hide their emotions, but that didn't mean they didn't have them. He should never have given Sasuke another reason to fuel his hatred. And though the youngest Uchiha stopped asking openly about what exactly his sensei meant, the issue was far from forgotten.

He asked then, after seeing Sakura's reaction to his Sharingan. And Kakashi had no other option, but to respond.

It was a mere suspicion, nothing truly confirmed, but Itachi had been near Konoha a while ago. The information caused an undesirable reaction in Sasuke, yet the explanation continued. The pink-haired girl they knew as their teammate had disappeared around that time. Sasuke wasn't exactly stupid - he connected the dots alarmingly quick, his gaze darkening considerably. What was suspicion before, was confirmed now.

Despite his loud and goofy attitude, Naruto wasn't a dumbass, his reaction a bit more vocal. All of this made a whole lot of sense, a dreaded feeling dawning upon the younger ninja. Sasuke swore under his breath and whirled around swiftly, but his sensei had anticipated his movements. Kakashi was certain that the boy would leave Konoha right now and pursue his brother restlessly.

What Sasuke was going through was a particularly brutal version of what many shinobi experienced at some point in their lives - the despicable question, fatal choice between becoming a fully efficient machine or keeping a heart to love with. And right now, he knew that the shaky balance the Uchiha had held between these two, in the last months, had been brutally shattered.

Perhaps it was better this way, as he still had to ask his own question.

"What do you choose?"

Sasuke froze, caught in a maelstrom of emotions. The immediate answer was "revenge", no hesitation, no second thoughts. Kakashi felt the urge to curse. Damn it, Sakura, why do you always have to be the weak piece?


	8. 04:00:00

**Note:** from now on, updates will come alternating days (update, no update, update...), around the same time.

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Tsunade wolfed down a considerable amount of alcoholic beverages. Bottle after bottle, they went down her throat for hours on end. The truly respectable Fifth Hokage was having a very big headache, and not exactly because of her drinking habit.

The Uchiha clan had been troublesome since anyone in their right mind could remember. Even then, they seemed to be mocking Konoha from the grave, in the shape of a very annoying kid that refused to cooperate. They couldn't just force him, or else, as Kakashi wisely pointed out, he might just snap and desert as soon as possible. Yet, what the hell could be done if the brat was already in his fourth hour under arrest, to prevent him from leaving the village?

She gave out a sigh and then glanced up at the other troublesome kid who was literally yelling that he had the solution, standing in front over her desk, his arms defiantly slammed down on its wooden surface. His bright blue eyes shone with conviction, a steely resolution radiating from him in waves. Tsunade glared at him, blinking away the drowsiness of the drinks, and screamed back at him to put him in his place.

"You don't understand it at all! He just wants to protect what he cares about- what he loves!"

Kakashi, who was waiting next to the door with the most casual air, directed a single-eye glance at his student. Interesting. Perhaps the brat had a point. He didn't specify whether that treasure of sorts was his clan's pride or his teammate. No, that wasn't the important thing.

It was logical that Sasuke would want to get stronger, even if what he was keeping guard of was the name of the Uchiha clan. It didn't matter if Sakura's state was merely further fuel to the flames of his hatred towards the one man who slaughtered them: Sasuke definitely felt like Konoha would only hinder him in his mission. Did Naruto see past his teammate's thick façade of ice? Yes, of course he did.

And perhaps… there were other things slipping through. The image of a bright and cheerful Sakura, with her barely contained volatile moods and unyielding care, appeared in his mind. Maybe, just maybe, Naruto was seeing something that no one else did, simply because the way he saw things was completely different and unique to him.

The boy knew of the precarious balance in Sasuke's mind, but… would that be enough to change his mind?


	9. 01:47:00

The silver-haired shinobi had to recognise that, for once in his life, the Uzumaki had tried to keep it civil. Yet talking to Sasuke was like talking to a wall, one that was very good at scowling. The clash of wills could be heard from a huge distance, reverberating through the hallways of the prison.

It seemed like a lost cause. If not for the fact that one of them was restrained, Kakashi was sure that they would have already fought it out. Neither of them was willing to back down from their position. If he felt a single ounce of the Nine-Tail's chakra seep out of the cell, he would have to stop it and pull Naruto away.

But it didn't. And in fact, the two boys' voices suddenly grew quiet. Kakashi took a peek into the room - Naruto sat side by side with Sasuke, on a bench that hung from the wall. Both of them looked down at the ground, the pain beneath the anger clearly visible in that moment. They were whispering, and he could barely hear what they said, but the words were spoken gravely, with an almost solemn air.

Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh, practically a snort, scoffed and crossed his arms. He was almost pouting, his face scrunched up into a conflicted expression. It looked like the blond boy was gaining ground, slowly but steadily. What he heard made Kakashi feel the need to smirk - Naruto's talking capabilities were off-charts when it came to changing people's minds. One hour and forty-seven minutes, but he did it.

Naruto had gained the ability to understand a little bit of what went through Sasuke's head, since both of them had experienced the same loss. They were stranded together through their bond with Sakura, even if she meant different things for each of them. And with that, the fox boy had found a common ground with which to convince his teammate.

The stubborn Uchiha finally agreed to help, with one condition: once Sakura was back on her feet again, he would be free to leave if he wanted to. Tsunade almost smacked him with one of her bottles, but the headache she was feeling told her it wasn't worth it to bother with this any more. She and the raven-haired brat stared at each other for a while, she said that it would be something to decide in the future, and they left it at that.

Kakashi gave Naruto a discreet pat on the shoulder while no one was looking.


	10. 3 days

It was clear that Sasuke felt uncomfortable, but he didn't go against the medics' orders. Not too much, anyways. For what felt like ages, they put both him, Kakashi and Sakura in different tests to see her reactions. They didn't vary too much - she was terrified of the Sharingan, and would enter a panic attack if said Sharingan was her teammate's. What had the bastard done to her, Sasuke didn't know, but it made him angry.

They got her to move her hands when he performed a simple genjutsu. She immediately reacted to dispel it, and blinked in confusion for a few seconds. For a brief moment, she looked like her usual self, and then her gaze went blank. They knew something new, now: she was still trying to defend herself from the perceived threat of the Uchiha kekkei genkai. The next step was to try and interact with her.

While she didn't lash out, it was clear she felt in danger. No matter how hard they tried, she wouldn't speak a single word, and any other attempt to get information out of her was proven unsuccessful. All they knew was that Sakura Haruno had developed a strange ability to detect the activation of the Sharingan, even if she couldn't see it, as shown after three days of tests.

It was a reaction he couldn't control, but after one of her strange screaming episodes, Sasuke growled a quiet "shut up". And she did. Perplexed, he told her to raise her left hand, and she did.


	11. 8 days

Strangely enough, Sakura felt safer in the darkness. No, that was not correct - when she couldn't directly see the Sharingan, she seemed to feel slightly more relaxed. Then again, she barely showed any reaction or emotion, other than fear. Any method of asking her questions would yield no results - she only moved if she was told to, explicitly. And the only person who seemed to be able to command her was Sasuke.

Perhaps it was a brainwash. After all, if Itachi Uchiha had anything to do with this, it was very likely that he'd done something to her mind. Why, no one had a single clue, since he hadn't shown any interest in Konoha for years. What could tie him to a seemingly random kunoichi? Even if the purpose was to torment his little brother - why this, out of all things?

It made no sense, and that irked Sasuke to no end. It was clear this was a challenge, or so he felt - and his current goal was to figure out how to overcome it. If that meant having his ears drilled by Sakura's screams, so be it. Though if he asked, she would go quiet… Yet some part of him wanted to hear her voice. A very tiny, squishy part, right at the bottom of his soul. Maybe. But he would never admit it!

The medics figured out that it would be better to try and get Sakura to function - perhaps this would trigger something in her mind and make her "wake up". Sasuke was needed to repeat their commands to her. She was blindfolded to prevent her panic, and the Sharingan was quite the strain to maintain, but he decided that it could be taken as an exercise. Yeah, that made sense… a strengthening exercise.

Naruto and Kakashi watched the strange development that their teammates underwent - this was a strange sight, indeed.

Eight days after the start of the new tests, Sakura was able to walk if someone held her up. She freaked out more often than not - no one but the youngest Uchiha could approach her, and even he had to do so while she couldn't see him. It was clear the contact made her stiff, as if she was tolerating it merely because of following orders.

If that man had laid a single finger on her, Sasuke would definitely cut a few limbs off his body before killing him. Chopping his hands to pieces seemed incredibly appealing.


	12. 00:00:00,5

Ino raised an eyebrow. She tapped Lee's shoulder and he turned around. He needed half a second to react, and then his mouth opening until it formed a very round "o". Since they stumbled upon each other at the hospital, they seemed to have gotten closer. Which was strange on its own - Lee was cringe-worthy to anyone with a minimal sense of decorum, and Ino was… well, Ino.

It started over talking about Sakura. At some point, Ino mentioned their rivalry - bitterness tainted her every word, because in one way or another she still cared.

Their competitive natures took over and they started to oneup each other with challenges. As people whispered, only someone like the Yamanaka would be ballsy enough to do that to Lee of all people. Mourning through effort and a whole lot of unfashionable sweating worked out pretty well. It was a routine she was perfectly fine with, and everything had fallen into place for her, despite her grief.

At least, until the blonde caught sight of a pair even more strange than them: Sasuke, looking more awkward than he ever had and with the Sharingan activated, supporting Sakura as she took mechanical steps, her expression completely blank and a blindfold over her eyes.

"What the fuck" didn't nearly cut it in this case, and the same thought a lot of citizens of Konoha. Some were surprised that she was still alive. Others raised their eyebrows at the strange combination. The ones who knew most about the situation sniggered discreetly.

And then there were Naruto, who glared at anyone who looked at them funny, and Kakashi, still reading his porn book, both of them trailing after the weird pair. Team Seven was reunited, and what a sight it was.

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 **Note:** it had to get bad before it could get better (:


	13. 10 days

They sat near the three wooden posts. The memories of the bell test came back to the males' minds, though Sakura seemed to be blissfully oblivious to everything. Sasuke didn't seem particularly excited about having to essentially babysit her, but he didn't voice it. He had to admit that the feeling of having her so close to him, for pretty much half of the day, was taking its toll.

He didn't dislike it, alright. It's true he tried not to interact (Kami have mercy, if he ever tried) with other girls. He wasn't particularly interested in making friends, and he would stab himself before he admitted that he missed one of his annoying teammates. Hell no.

But it wasn't too bad. At least he had a chance to strengthen his Sharingan. And Naruto wasn't being too unbearable (which was something he had deemed impossible before), because he knew that if Sasuke got injured in one of their bickering contests (like that would happen), Sakura wouldn't be able to get out of the hospital. Perhaps it wasn't bad at all, he accepted.

He now had the chance to train as much as he wanted under supervision, not only of Kakashi, but some of Konoha's best shinobi. It was clear that they wanted to convince him to stay once he wasn't needed, and the truth was that he was learning so much more than he ever expected to.

He was taught the value of balancing work and rest, and surprisingly enough, those damn people were right on how important it was. In the long run, keeping a healthy schedule and habits helped much more than training himself to the ground. Even Lee told him that everyone had their own limits - he was a genius of hard work, so he knew that very well. Ten days was all he needed to see the results. Fine, his instructors had a point.

Before he knew it, he was looking forward to meeting with them, discussing strategies and learning something new. And perhaps a tiny part of him liked the warmth and softness of Sakura's skin, and how she was always… there. But he wouldn't say that. Ever.


	14. 100 years

The first thing Sasuke noticed was the slight smile. He had to admit he watched Sakura, not in a creepy sense, but to see if there were any reactions that weren't provoked by him. He caught himself looking a bit too much sometimes, and then figured that it was for a good measure. It wasn't like he was slacking off with training… just fulfilling his end of the deal. Yeah, that was it.

And she smiled whenever she heard birds chirping - it was their season, so they were everywhere, and it was clear that Sakura noticed them. He wanted to do some testing on his own, so he caught one and brought it to her in a small cage, letting her see it.

She frowned. What? Wasn't this the bird she liked?

His eyes widened when he watched her fingers twitch, as if she wanted to move her hands. He told her the bird was for her, so she could do whatever she wanted, and then he waited. After what felt like a century, Sakura brought her fingertips to the small trapdoor of the cage and opened it.

Even though she didn't do much on her own, Sakura had done exercises to keep her muscles in good shape. Yet her fingers trembled, as if she was fighting a strange, invisible force to move them. She dropped her hand immediately, but her face followed the movement of the bird she had given freedom to, even though she couldn't see it.

Sakura smiled as the black and brown shape of the bird dove into the canopy of Konoha's forest.

* * *

 **Note:** I think one of the little things of this story is that the situation allows Sasuke to do the _right_ thing without having to veer into revenge/darkness.

It's a bizarre situation, a change of focus for his characters... and I can imagine that he wouldn't be able to keep himself aloof forever, giving start to other, very _particular_ situations.


	15. 14 days

Saying that sleeping arrangements were weird was the understatement of the year. Sakura couldn't be left alone on her own. Although the medics of Konoha's hospital had managed to put together a device that kept track of things ranging from heart rate to bladder pressure, thanks to small pulses of chakra, it wasn't enough to get her to take care of stuff on her own.

Keeping her in the hospital wasn't a good option, since her environment had to be as normal as possible (it seemed to make her marginally more responsive - which for the girl, was a lot), but this arrangement made the presence of a helping volunteer required. And in turn, this person would need Sasuke to get the girl to obey commands - she was still as good as a sleeping dead-weight without the direct use of his Sharingan.

To be fair, the Uchiha tried to give her a schedule, but as soon as the kekkei genkai was deactivated, she went back to her former, unresponsive state. On the bright side, she spent most of the day outside and only went home to sleep. She was already with him almost at all times, which was surprisingly less bothersome than he would have thought, so at least it wasn't an interference with his own schedule. It had to be because she had learned to be quiet.

And regarding that, she technically didn't have a house anymore, so that left her to be juggled around between Kakashi's and Sasuke's, changing every two weeks. Naruto didn't feel happy to be left out, but his apartment was such a mess that no one even considered the option.

It was strange. Sakura's predicament had brought them together, and they even went on D-ranked missions now. Though blindfolded, the girl was able to move mostly on her own by now - according to the medics, her connection to the Sharingan allowed her to recognise her surroundings just as well as Sasuke could, even though she couldn't "see" anything.

And the Uchiha, who had never been the one to speak too much, had gotten very good at conveying orders with very few words. He worked as a sort of tactician regarding the positioning of his team. Naruto had reluctantly agreed to obey some of his orders, though he would always question them and offer different alternatives. He was the free-man of the team, who worked as a scout and first line of defense. Kakashi merely watched them bicker, though he was amused.

Teamwork, thy name is Seven.


	16. 00:00:44

Sakura had nightmares every night. She turned and tossed in her bed, whimpered and cried out in a very low voice, and most of the time she cowered and shivered as if she felt attacked. It took three weeks for Sasuke to finally admit that yes, this was a problem, and yes, it bothered him; and also, yes, he had spent a shameful amount of time paying attention to her troubled sleep.

In his defense, he thought of it as a challenge. Sakura's predicament was a mystery - he felt that, if he solved it, he would get one step closer to defeating that man. He wanted to bring her back...

There had been celebration about Ino's promotion in shinobi ranks - and somehow, a bunch of young shinobi ended up stranded in his house. Not cool. He should never have agreed to let the Yamanaka visit Sakura, because as always, there were a lot of people trailing not far behind Ino.

He was in the process of kicking everyone out, when the blonde herself noticed Sakura's troubled sleep. The Yamanaka gave a glare to Sasuke - the only time she didn't fawn over him was when she questioned how well he was taking care of Sakura. He humphed, crossed his arms and reluctantly admitted he had noticed this problem.

Ino nearly shoved him into her bed, and told him to calm Sakura down. Sasuke Uchiha could do many things, but coddling girls that were having nightmares wasn't one of them. Scrap that, girls and coddling were entirely out of his areas of expertise.

Especially when he was very sure that the girl in question still didn't feel comfortable around the Sharingan. He didn't have to obey the Yamanaka, but to hell with it - this couldn't hurt anyone, could it?

So he sat on the edge of her bed and waited for an awkwardly long time. Forty-four seconds passed. He glanced at Ino, who gave him a thumbs-up and a grin full of teeth, and with a sigh, Sasuke cautiously placed a finger on Sakura's head. It was warm, of course. Her body was always like that. How hot would it get when she flushed, he wondered? Could he tell her to do that? No, no, don't go that way you traitorous brain. Focus in the task at hand.

He brushed his thumb over the skin, and in a stroke of genius, Sasuke pushed the strands of her hair away from her sweaty face. Her breathing had come to a halt, though she wasn't shivering any longer. The nagging voice of reason told him that the job was done and now he should get the fuck out, yet he felt that his body felt like it was glued on the spot.

His hand trailed down Sakura's face, hesitantly cupping her cheek. She relaxed and leaned into his touch, her breathing once more back to normal. Her expression was calmer; peaceful, even. Whatever dreams she'd been having weren't bothering her anymore. He glared at Ino, who was apparently about to pee herself out of pure fangirling.

"Not a single word of this."

The blonde nodded a bit too quickly.


	17. 00:09:00AM

**Note:** this is a double update! If you're here after the story just updated, go back one chapter :)

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Of course, in less than a week the news had spread through the entirety of Konoha. Ino had wasted no time in blabbering off to Lee, who apparently cried tears of joy and became even more obnoxiously chipper; subsequently, his whole team found out, and rumors said that Neji told Hinata, who told Naruto (who was royally pissed and threatened to duel Sasuke to death).

And after Naruto knew, everyone knew, especially because of how loud he was in telling the Uchiha to back right off from his future girlfriend and her bed, especially when she was defenseless and sleeping. Sasuke had never known he could feel so awkward, but it seemed that every day he walked into worse and worse situations, as if some twisted god of fate enjoyed his suffering.

Sakura sat unassuming through all of this. She had been "watching" birds since nine in the morning - in the early spring, so many of them had migrated to Konoha from warmer lands. Meanwhile, Sasuke was wondering if Naruto's regenerative abilities extended to his throat. That would explain why he was able to keep shouting for hours.

They ended up fighting it out, for the great amusement of Kakashi. They were a broken family of orphans whose blood ties had been cut. Now, even Sakura wasn't exempt of this category. Tragedy could break people or bring them closer, and he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if not for her state.

Naruto would have left with Jiraiya, Sasuke had been getting closer and closer to drowning in his own hatred, and Kakashi… well, he'd survive his team, but the failure would have weighed on his conscience.

It seemed like, for the time being, his team was safe - and that was all he could care about.


	18. 365 days

Sasuke's half-hearted attempts at making excuses for disappearing didn't convince anyone - Naruto himself chased him down and berated him for thinking he could leave his team behind. Kakashi didn't say it, but the youngest Uchiha had been under constant watch for a while. Tracking him down to his clan's district was easy. He knew that Sasuke hadn't left the village, but his reasoning still worried him.

It turned out that he was attempting to find any and all information on the Sharingan. He had been too young to know every secret, but the Uchiha doctrines were strict - he did possess the knowledge to find a few scrolls. It became increasingly clear once Kakashi saw the open documents, strewn about in the living room of a seemingly random house in the Uchiha district.

Whatever had been done to Sakura was mental manipulation of the highest caliber - attuned to the Sharingan, no less. Somewhere, there had to be information on something like that.

He didn't make any comments about how coincidental it was, that Sasuke had dived into this search in the anniversary of Sakura's kidnapping.


	19. 03:50:00

**Note:** back from the brief break, have a **_double update!_** (backtrack if you didn't read the previous chapter) again as a compensation. Short chapters, but they're important!

* * *

The pinkette wouldn't let anyone enter her mind - even under explicit commands, no Yamanaka, not even Ino, could land a foot inside her mental realm. Sasuke knew he was the only one who had a chance, but the knowledge of the Sharingan techniques that could allow this was heavily guarded under many veils of secrecy.

It took him three and half weeks to get an inkling on how to do it, and he was immediately disappointed. The power to execute the jutsu was granted by a higher level of Sharingan. Itachi's, to be precise.

Once again, he felt his shortcomings overwhelm him, because what had he been doing for a whole year? Taking care of a girl that wasn't really there. He felt angry then, he resented her, and even considered refusing to help her any more. The only useful thing he could do was train, and that he did for three hours and forty-nine minutes.

At the start of the fiftieth minute, he noticed a quiet shadow that was lingering on the sidelines of the training ground. He recognised her, blue gown and all, looking at him yet refusing to meet his eyes.

Sakura.


	20. (Too long)

She spoke to him. Questions asked to her would never go answered. This time, when he inquired what she was doing there, she said: "I was worried." He blinked a few times, surprised that the question had actually drawn a legitimate answer. He forgot about training quickly, and double-checked to make sure this was real. How had she gotten here?

"Why?" Sakura hadn't moved on her own in months. And now she seemed extremely uncomfortable, for reasons he didn't want to delve into, because they would drive him mad within seconds if he did. Even without her blindfold, she still refused to meet his gaze.

He wanted her to look at him in the eyes, to see a glimpse of her real self, but all that was always there was a slight tinge of fear and a reminder of what was taken from him. He wanted, and loathed it. That seemed to sum up how he felt towards her.

"Worried about you," she specified, after a very long time. Her eyes left her feet and looked up at him, and Sasuke nearly gasped. There was something there, an emotion burning so intensely that it surprised him. Her eyes weren't lifeless, and now they shone with the light of things that most people would never experience, that great was their depth.

Then, she did a very Sakura thing, and cried.


	21. 00:00:00,040

**Note:** I hope you understand the justifications for this small scene. Yay for character development!

* * *

Sasuke never thought he would find himself almost trying to hug someone on purpose. But then again, most of the things he experienced in the last months, he would never have been able to predict. There was something filled with despair in the way she shook, and couldn't look at him in the eye anymore. The way she flinched at the approach, and then stopped moving entirely, as if she was afraid of him of all people.

Didn't she know better? Even if he wasn't overtly amicable, she was one of his few precious people. He probably would never be what she wanted him to… but he hadn't done anything to warrant those responses.

She didn't have those reactions around anyone else. She didn't react to begin with. And the first words she heard from her, after all those months, were filled with hurt. As if she had consciously made a grievous mistake, mourning for something he couldn't fathom. The silence was asphyxiating, and he couldn't stand it anymore.

Like divine punishment for his moment of lowered guard, an orange and yellow cannonball burst from somewhere near them and tackled them to the ground forty milliseconds later. Sakura didn't show a sign of noticing. Sasuke resisted the urge to punch Naruto's face in. A mess of limbs and two kicks later, they found themselves in a more comfortable position. The fox boy was mumbling incoherent things and crying and laughing, holding Sakura as if she were water in a desert. And for some reason, hugging the Uchiha too.

The latter sat there, dumbfounded and scowling towards his sensei's general direction. He wasn't begging… not at all. Kakashi's wink and casual passing of a page told him that he was alone with this. He was going to pay dearly for his one moment of off-character weakness.

God damn it.


	22. 00:17:00

**Note:** as a funfact, we'll soon be halfway through the story!

* * *

Seventeen minutes later, they were still sitting on the grass. Sunset was approaching, but they were far from done with the matters at hand. Kakashi didn't bother suggesting that they take the conversation to somewhere proper. His team was good at many things, but listening to orders wasn't one of them.

Sakura was taking very long to enunciate her responses, limiting them to less than five words at the time, and her teammates were trying to coordinate on how to ask her most efficiently. They didn't want to break this perhaps fragile balance that allowed her to speak. They were as delicate as they could ever be, a sight that was bittersweet to watch.

She didn't recognise Naruto, and that almost tore down his confidence. For maybe forty-five milliseconds. Then he puffed up his chest and decided that he'd figure out how to make her remember. Somehow, Sasuke convinced him that questions were a better way than a show of awesomeness.

They sat there for what seemed like ages, uncomfortable but unwilling to admit that they'd rather not move away.


	23. 00:11:00

"Are you okay?" Kakashi smirked at the first question, unanimously decided upon by the two boys. Sakura seemed to be blank for a few long seconds.

"I'm okay," she replied, without a change in her expression.

"What happened to you?"

Wrong question. It took a few seconds, but the response was brutal. Those screams that escaped her - no one should ever cry out like that. No one should be drowning in such horror and pain. She clammed up for a good eleven minutes afterward, until Sasuke tried to get up and go fume somewhere else.

Her hand darted forward at surprising speed, and closed around his wrist. Tenaciously, if not almost forcefully. Desperately. Her eyes were filled with tears as she muttered: "Don't leave."


	24. 00:00:21

**Note:** Since the updates are short and I'm not on time, have another _**DOOUBLE UPDATE OF DOOM!**_ And thank you all for all the awesome support and reviews :)

* * *

"What did… Itachi do?"

"...Opened my eyes." Twenty-one seconds, empty expression. "Couldn't close them." Twenty-one, with the precision of a metronome. "Saw too much." A split second, a hint of emotion. "It hurt a lot."

"How? Did he use a jutsu?"

Flinch. "Sharingan. Mangekyō Sharingan." And every twenty-one seconds, she would add more words to her response. It was only one word this time: "Tsukuyomi."

No words, four minutes and three seconds.

"Why?"

Hesitation. "...Because of you. What you did. What you'll do."


	25. 00:00:02,5

Sasuke had become incredibly skilled at multitasking. Indeed, keeping track of both Naruto and Sakura made him capable of being a tactical leader. It still wasn't enough deal with stopping the Uzumaki's attempts to murder him, at the same time as Sakura refused to let him go.

There was red chakra in the air. It had only taken two seconds and half for Naruto to process the information and completely flip. He wasn't going to listen to reason now. And Sakura wasn't responding, apparently cowed by some unknown fear. He had to get them out of there. He had been oblivious to his blond teammate's growing distress.

Perhaps after months of accumulated hurt, Sasuke merely had the bad luck of being the easiest outlet in a very delicate moment. Naruto wasn't blind to Sakura's reactions, wasn't unaware of how something was extremely wrong with her. How scared she was.

He chased the Uchiha, who was trying to pry himself free from his other was an accident, really, but Naruto hurt her.

Naturally, Sasuke had to step in to stop him.

"You never learn," muttered Kakashi, as if he had been the troubled party, as they all rested in a hospital room, half an hour later.


	26. (Unknown)

Sakura was holding back a secret. Something important, that made her demeanor nervous and jumpy, when Sasuke questioned her. She wouldn't let any information slip about it, wouldn't let anyone in her mind, and the long-forgotten ideas of a sleeper agent were coming back to the surface of medic talk.

Whatever she was hiding, it had to be important, because not anger nor pleads would pry the information loose from her lips. It made her act guilty, fearful, her every action done only after steeling herself to with the utmost resolution. Kakashi knew it had to do with Sasuke and the Sharingan in general.

It could have been trauma. It was a miracle her mind worked at all. Nothing was wrong with her, however. No one could see what was going on in there, and the rest of her body didn't give any clues. No physical torture, no abuse of any kind. She was perfectly fine.

But if she had been, she wouldn't have had those nightmares. Wouldn't react so violently to the Sharingan and Sasuke. Something was off, but it was impossible to tell what.


	27. 00:00:58

Sasuke had his ears covered, the devices made specifically to prevent him from hearing anything. There was a screen in front of Sakura's mouth, so he couldn't read her lips. Only under those conditions, as she stared at his Sharingan unblinkingly for a good fifty-eight seconds, she finally fessed up.

"Sasuke becomes evil. Madness eats him. He falls in darkness. He destroys everything. He kills everyone. Kakashi, Naruto, me. We all die. Hatred consumes him."

She cried while she said it, causing Sasuke to scowl, but he was unable to understand what was going on. Kakashi listened; he was the only one she allowed to listen. She didn't consciously notice if other people were there, but she knew if she was told. And that was her request, her only condition - he was the only one she could speak to.

Kakashi didn't know what to say. Obviously, she had been brainwashed. Why, for what purpose, he didn't know. It might have been a move against Sasuke, but if that was the case, the plan backfired. Her state brought her team closer than ever, and cemented that the youngest Uchiha would stay in Konoha.

Itachi didn't leave loose straws like that possibility in the air. He didn't make such gross miscalculations. He must have been watching, and specifically targeted Sakura Haruno. It was now clear that it had been him, and with someone like Itachi, it was better to guess in the most backwards, twisted ways.

So Kakashi assumed that the intended effect was to make Sasuke stay in Konoha. Strengthen his ties with the village. Push him away from his revenge, for the time being. And for some reason, convince Sakura that Sasuke was doomed to leave anyway and set out to destroy them all.

Try as he might, he couldn't shake off the shiver that this possibility inflicted on him.


	28. 00:06:00AM

**A.N.:** sorry for the little delay! If it helps, know that the next 5 or so updates will be rather lengthy (and likely uploaded in pairs - you'll see why). Thanks for your support once more! :) _Potential title joke/reference for this chapter:_ "Until Dawn". Hah.

* * *

It kept him up at night, and oftentimes he would look at the clock and see that it was already six in the morning. What was the point? Was Itachi trying to irreparably tear his team to pieces? Why go this far? It would have taken one single Tsukuyomi to tear her mind apart. No need to kidnap her for months. He could have done so many other things, if what he wanted was to destroy Sasuke's mind further. This seemed oddly specific. There was a major keypoint he was missing.

Something that made Sakura important. She was the weak piece of their team - Naruto would have been nearly impossible to capture, and Kakashi himself was out of the question. Easy to target, to forget… but important to her team. And to Itachi, apparently.

He didn't buy it - that she had seen what would become of their future, should Sasuke "leave". She was obviously obsessed with the idea, that much he knew. Once he knew what details to look for, it made sense. Sakura wasn't afraid of the Sharingan, of Itachi, or of Sasuke by extension of the latter.

Her fears were directly related to Sasuke himself. For him, from him. Whatever she had seen had scared her to no end, causing her nightmares and blank demeanor. And he knew that the girl they used to know was still there, because her emotions were genuine, persisting through the walls of whatever jail her mind had been put in.

She stayed with Sasuke, even if she seemed certain he would betray them, hurt them. She stayed with her team, even if she thought they would all be killed one day by the hands of the Uchiha..

Her mechanic motions and timed responses might mean she was trying her hardest to communicate. To reach them. She hadn't given up, and for the sake of getting her back, they wouldn't either.


	29. (Twelve)

Ino had become a freak of nature. Her temper seemed to flare up a bit more with each training session with Lee. Somehow, she managed to stay stylish and out of weird suits, but she became thoroughly obsessed with becoming better. For Sakura. Each person grieves differently, and if her way was to work herself to the ground, no one was going to complain.

Except Shikamaru, but he already did that all the time.

Eventually, she found out that her former best friend and rival had started to speak. She was slowly becoming more aware of her surroundings, capable of staying somewhat calm without a blindfold, through Sharingan jutsu and tests. Needless to say, Ino was pissed, and nearly barged into her room through a wall. She was going to see Sakura, and no one would stop her.

Naruto saw himself in the difficult position of preventing a fight, because Sasuke was having none of this and Kakashi couldn't be arsed to stop them. Somehow, amid it all, a newcomer tugged on Ino's short-sleeved shirt meekly. The three of them turned to stare at Sakura, whose eyes flickered down to the blonde's waist shyly. The pinkette looked in Sasuke's general direction, and he took the cue and activated his Sharingan.

If Ino found any of this weird, she didn't say anything. She took the chance to hug her friend while mumbling foul words towards her teammates. Naruto gave her the middle finger, and nearly got said finger broken a second later.

Lee managed to follow Ino's path of destruction and reached the room in that moment, and brightened up when he saw Sakura, ignoring the glares of the girl's teammates. They had a reason to be scowling: seven other people were behind him, all of whom looked a bit lost. Hinata was trying her hardest not to drop what was obviously a cake, hiding behind it at the same time.

It only made her shake more, causing Tenten and Neji to hunch towards her by pure reflex. Shikamaru looked like he had been roughly woken up from a nap. No one knew what Shino was up to, but he was there too. Chōji was eating, of course. Kiba was failing at being inconspicuous.

"There's people here for you," Sasuke informed Sakura, because otherwise she would be completely oblivious to the show. She blinked a few times and looked at them (as best as she could while keeping her focus on the Sharingan).

Sakura started smiling, muttering "I missed you all."

Then she did the typical Sakura thing, and promptly cried.


	30. 00:00:18

Sasuke watched as Sakura's jovial expression started to fade into her typical blank one. Without the Sharingan, it still happened. At least, now she was able of the most basic actions on her own. He had gotten used to the strain of keeping it activated often, but there remained an unpleasant twinge in his chest.

No matter how normal she looked, she was far from fine. She had panic attacks, she would rarely do anything if not prompted to, and remained blissfully oblivious to almost anything and anyone. Her shortest reaction time was eighteen seconds of delay Only on rare occasions would she talk on her own, usually while experiencing great emotion, be it happiness or distress.

She was there, somewhere. They could get to her, or at least he could… but she wasn't free. He knew he wasn't supposed to care to the point of feeling pain at the mere thought, yet here he was, letting it happen.

Because she needed him. And Naruto, Kakashi, and all of their idiotic friends. He knew she was aware of her condition, expressing anxiety over her disconnection. And they cared about her too - missed her, even. They would not leave her alone. They would not move on and abandon her. They couldn't.

He and Naruto had promised that, one day, they would get her back, no matter what it took.


	31. (Reset, Restart, Repeat)

**Note:** well, my excuse for not updating is sleeping. Deal with it! There will be daily updates for 4 days - and we'll have a month's worth of chapters left.

* * *

Naruto was loud. About all the things he liked and the ones he did not. His enthusiasm was both contagious and murder-inducing. Sasuke considered himself a somewhat patient man, with an allergy to inane actions and bullshit. They were meant to bicker and fight. However, as their sensei pointed out, doing it in the middle of important training wasn't the way to go.

It was a bell test, literally and figuratively. He would merely stand there, and see what they could do on their own. Kakashi would be a static target - and their goal was to divert his attention for long enough to take the bells. Their real objective: show him what they could do in action, as a team. They couldn't set up an ambush for him to walk into, as he would just hold his ground. When they asked why this particular type of training, he smirked, but didn't respond.

The entirety of their team was inside a forested training ground, practicing for the upcoming Chūnin Exams. Kakashi had told them that they had the chance to take them, but only if they proved that they could work flawlessly as a team.

Sakura was functioning as a ninja, as long as she had the Sharingan to guide her. That meant Naruto had to be more on the lookout and ready to move around, as his teammates couldn't afford to be separated. They had barged into the Hokage's office and insisted that she let them participate. After all, they could train just fine, and do D-rank missions perfectly well.

A screaming match later, they ended up receiving this test.

They needed each other more than other teams did. Sasuke relied on Naruto's clones to obtain information, as he already had to keep track of two bodies. Naruto could wreak havoc on his own just fine, with his crazy and unpredictable ideas, but he wasn't so good with the greater scheme of things. They offered each other input.

Sakura relied on them both for guidance and protection. She might be blank, but she trusted them blindly, and her training had made her a decent combatant. She dispelled genjutsu on instinct, and showed no hesitation, and never failed when success hinged on chakra control.

Kakashi found it interesting, really. None of them had called a teammate useless in almost a year.


	32. -00:00:01

**Note;** crap, I overslept. Also! I have a dedicated flamer now! :D I can't believe it took a year, but finally there's one!

* * *

Decoy. They had been ballsy enough to use Sakura as a damn decoy!

When Kakashi saw her charging in open ground, he considered if Sasuke had given in to his temptations. No, Naruto would have been very loud in his complaints. He flung kunai at her half-heartedly, to test his theory. She was dodging before he finished the motion. The Hatake found himself smirking again.

From behind, a Naruto clone was flung at him. He ducked low and let it fly past, right into Sakura. They wouldn't be able to get him that way. He could hear and smell better than them, they wouldn't catch him off-guard by attacking from different sides.

Sakura made a few hand-signs in a robotic manner, as if it had been a rehearsed exercise without much soul behind it. She popped the clone with a kunai of her own. It exploded into smoke. A lot of it, actually. Kakashi had to give it to them, piling clones on top of each other was clever, but that meant that Sasuke's Sharingan would be blinded.

More of them popped around him, out of sight, making it a bit harder to determine the position of more incoming attacks. He listened intently, and had to dodge backwards unexpectedly. Much to his surprise, it was Sakura, again. Moving with a style that wasn't her own. She couldn't execute it flawlessly, but it puzzled him.

The girl shouldn't have been able to move, not without the Sharingan to provide her with visual information. Sasuke shouldn't be able to see inside the smoke. How…?

She was fast. They had been working on her speed and dodging, but he hadn't seen her move like this before. It was off… Much to his surprise, it was no genjutsu or henge, under which Sasuke should've been. It really was her, slipping into stances that only Uchiha used. Stances that required a Sharingan.

Not that she was fast enough to be a problem, mind you, but he had no idea what was going on. Her speed was enough to keep her in the fight, at least while he didn't step up his game. And this, alongside his confusion, was the first step for falling into a trap.


	33. 00:02:49

Two minutes and forty-nine seconds after the start, Sasuke had been flung into the smoke by one of Naruto's clones. They were amazing for maneuvering in the air without much sound. The constant background noise of their popping made it hard to suspect a casual rustling of clothes.

He knew they wouldn't be able to take a single bell if they didn't use killing intent, but they were under no rush to start using the heavy hitters. Sasuke wanted to see how far would Kakashi go. Naruto was waiting for his signal. He could see what Sakura was doing, and wondered what would Kakashi think of the jutsu he was using on her.

He was controlling her body, acutely aware of the muscles she moved and the motions she went through. He received her visual input and caused the reactions for her. This was only possible through their strange, Sharingan induced connection, and seemed to be a residue of her time as a hostage. It was weird, like controlling a puppet without having to move any strings, but it was working.

Kakashi would think Sakura was just a decoy. He had already been thrown off by the fact that she was still fighting, and would likely think that she wasn't able to do much on her own. He would expect an attack from either of the other two genin. And he would be wrong - if the plan went well, she would be the one to snatch those bells away from him.

Naruto was using a jutsu derived from his own. He was surprisingly good with creating the most random of jutsu. He could sense through the smoke - it was charged with his chakra, after all. Kakashi wouldn't notice a difference in the chakra, as the air was already overloaded. It was highly inefficient, but the Uzumaki had the reserves to pull it off. This was his playground.

Once Sasuke gave out the signal, the real attack would begin.


	34. 00:00:19

**Note:** you might be wondering there the hell I disappeared to. The answer is, I borked my sleeping schedules _and_ slept a lot. Not abandoning this story quite yet! ;)

* * *

Kakashi stepped up his game. Sakura was knocked off her feet in an instant. As soon as she hit the ground, she sank through it. Sasuke moved into close range and gave the signal to one of the clones, ready for the next jutsu. He was going to be low on chakra, but if all went well… he wouldn't need it.

On the edge of their clearing, Naruto executed his own step of the plan. A hundred clones popped into existence in the middle of the smoke. Kakashi wasn't supposed to move, so quite literally he ended up buried by them. Just for a few seconds. That moment, he saw what they were doing. It was idiotically straight-forward, with the signature style of his team.

He was yanked into the ground with more strength than any of his students should have, and then immediately immobilised by Sasuke, who was henged as a clone. Sakura emerged from the ground with a bell in her hand, swimming out of the earth in one of the few spots not covered by Naruto clones.

Their plan was simple, but their objective hadn't necessarily been to beat him. No, Kakashi's message had been that they should prove they were ready for the exams, distract him for long enough to land a hit on him, show him what they were capable of together - and their teamwork was flawless.

Naruto had been able to dispatch the shadow clone sent to fight him. Sasuke was never seen until it was too late. Through the entire fight, the only real person he saw and fought was Sakura herself. And despite being the one directly in line of fight, she didn't have a single scratch on her.

Her teammates had closed in the gaps in Sakura's fighting. Clones that popped out of nowhere to block attacks for her, kunai that Sasuke flung at him before he could land a strike. She merely held her bell blankly. Exhausted, Sasuke recovered his breath for a good nineteen seconds, and then took it from her hand and gave it to Kakashi. They had protected her perfectly, and still managed to execute a plan as crazy as this one.

They proved their point, and he passed them.


	35. 00:00:30

No matter how much they pestered their sensei, Kakashi wouldn't tell them what exactly had Sakura told him. Even when they managed to ask her, she would pointedly ignore their question. They were at the end of their very reduced patience.

Sakura was becoming slightly more aware during the Sharingan tests. She actually broke up a fight between Naruto and Sasuke via punch method. If the latter hadn't deactivated his eyes in time, she would have beaten them up (the Uchiha didn't know what to think of this new development).

Ino suggested they try to get inside her mind with Yamanaka techniques again. Maybe now that she was slightly more conscious, she would allow her best friend to take a peek. And the experiment failed rather spectacularly, because as it turned out, there were barriers the pinkette herself hadn't placed in there.

"It's like there's a glass… She's on the other side," Ino explained, after being violently kicked out, only half a minute after entering. She couldn't have built the barrier up - it had been something implanted in her mind. It felt foreign.

With every disappointment, there was silent hatred building up for a certain man.


	36. 00:26:00

"I talked with my father. He said that no one else could see a glass!" Ino seemed ecstatic, and somehow managed to drag together their group of twelve, as if this were a meeting. She was fearsome before, but now almost no one wanted to cross her.

The rest of the mind-technique users of Konoha had been violently kicked out of Sakura's mind. Only the experts had been allowed to try (so maybe their experiment the other day had been a little bit illegal). Inoichi reluctantly gave them permission to do it again, under supervision.

"Why are all of us here? This is so troublesome," mumbled Shikamaru.

"I don't wanna die," replied Kiba, and the majority of present people nodded silently. No one wanted to face the eccentric Ino's wrath. Hinata shyly mumbled something about "moral support", and left it at that. Translated to normal language: Ino had managed to convince the medical staff that their "company" was "a good influence" and helped with making Sakura easier to deal with.

It turned out that said Yamanaka girl was the only one capable of entering Sakura's mind safely. She reached further than anyone, but she still got kicked out after a few seconds. In truth, they hadn't advanced too much. It also didn't work very well in a closed up space like a hospital - so here they were, a bit more than a dozen people, in the middle of a training ground.

Twenty-six minutes after the start, and countless attempt to reach her, a voice finally piped up in the expectant silence.

"Wait, why not use the Sharingan at the same time? Isn't that, like, obvious?"

He and the others were away from Ino, Sakura and the medics, but this was Naruto, so everyone heard him. A few of the medics blinked at his sudden suggestion. The Uzumaki himself was feeling like he just had a stroke of genius, yet the adults looked unconvinced. Surely it wouldn't be so simple.

They had avoided mixing the Sharingan with anything that could put pressure on Sakura or make her feel threatened. Unanimously, they looked at the group of young ninja that sat next to them, watching the experiment, on the belief that it would help; they listened to the birds that lived in the trees of the training ground, which was noisier than their typical hospital room.

Then, they exchanged looks. And realised that, at this point, they were desperate. They doubted.

"C'mon! He's the only one that can get her to do anything." Glances were exchanged - the Sharingan did make Sakura jumpy. No one had even been able to get inside her mind… until now. But her barriers were Sharingan-based, and she still had some degree of control, so it could be helpful.

It could also backfire horribly, but what else could they do?

This solution was a solid maybe, the best they could hope for.


	37. 00:00:00,0000000000000000000000000000001

For so many months, Sasuke had felt frustration. Sakura was so close, yet so far. Even when she could talk, it was like she wasn't really there with them. No matter how hard they tried, how much he trained his Sharingan, it was never enough to completely reach her. She would be a hairsbreadth away… and slip between their fingers every time.

He redoubled his training as an outlet for the anger. Naruto was surprisingly helpful, feeling a similar sort of emotion. At first he felt that, if he couldn't even save one of his teammates from Itachi, he would never be able to defeat the man himself. This emotion slowly eroded into determination to save her. Sometimes he didn't know why it was important to retrieve her, but it just was.

Now he could see her, trapped behind that glass. She came when he called. Sasuke could hear her, see her, talk to her - but not make contact. She had her palms against the barrier, and it seemed like there was a minimal distance between them, but they would never be able to break through.

He didn't have enough power to break it or cross to the other side.

It was worse than if she was dead.


	38. (Heartbeat)

**Note:** as a funfact, this chapter's title is dedicated to "Heartbeat" (whose author name is hard to link due to a dot, so just look at my favorites list)

* * *

No one trusted Naruto. It was a foolish thing to do, because whenever you least expected it he'd get a crazy idea you never thought of. You could count on him with your life, but never, ever hope that he would become predictable. Anything could set him off, and anyone near him better be braced for it (they never were).

It took seeing how grumpy Sasuke was, and the fact that Ino actually looked sad. Defeated. The way the medics shook their heads as if this was all a waste of time. Sakura's expression, fading from a sad smile to nothingness. Their frustration, their hopelessness. He could feel it all echoing in his own heart, and screamed at them to try again.

"You can't just leave her there! Don't give up, dammit!" Ino physically flinched, and exchanged a glance with Sasuke. They were lying on the ground, Ino in the middle and holding both his and Sakura's hands. The pinkette's her glassy eyes stared at the clouds. The medics couldn't separate them in time - Ino dragged herself and the Uchiha into Sakura's mind once more.

And this time, Naruto leaped for them and managed to latch to the blonde's arm before anyone could whisk him away.

A flare of the Kyūbi's chakra filled the training ground a heartbeat later.


	39. (Forty-four)

The wall cracked under the impact of an absurd, massive amount of chakra. Twenty-four charges later, Naruto's effort had finally produced a result. On the other side, Sakura's nose was bleeding. She couldn't stand up anymore.

" _You could die._ "

" _We have to try.._."

" _Then we'll get you out, 'ttebayo!_ "

Those four words she said were filled with such pain and sadness, that they couldn't question her further. She was inside a prison in her own mind. There were no chains holding her in place, only a cube of glass that kept her from the outside. The Sharingan only allowed her to recover only part of her body functions, even if it was to be manipulated as a puppet.

It wasn't a life she could ever be happy with. Her mental image was wavering and filling with cracks, screaming. They could hear it, and probably everyone outside could too. Naruto knew he had made a deal with the devil, so they had to be fast. The wall hadn't budged for the longest time, something he wouldn't have thought possible, not with the use of Tailed Beast chakra.

But in due time, it started succumbing to the titanic power that tried to obliterate it.

Forty-four times, and the barrier broke.


	40. 00:76:00

He stumbled, and though he managed to regain balance with expertise, his whole body started tingling with burning agony. Even his vision was blurred by crimson mist.

It couldn't be. They couldn't have figured out how to do it so soon. It would require a bijū's godly power to dent the barrier, and a Sharingan to even get there.

Perhaps he had underestimated them. Indeed, he didn't believe in those people as a whole. They repelled each other, and only the loss of one could bring them together. Only great tragedy could make them understand. Evidently, he miscalculated… slightly.

Technically, she was still there.

If it hadn't lasted for long enough, it would all be for naught.

"It didn't work."

He didn't bother to look at the decrepit puppet that sat in a corner of the cave. It had been hidden for a very long time here, and its empty eye sockets were incapable of providing sight. The creature didn't reply for an extended period of time.

It was nearly impossible to read or predict it, as it had no body language to speak of. He could guess if the thing was seething with anger or pleased only by its words, which had no inflexion to them whatsoever:

Seventy-six minutes later, it finally answered.

"Good."


	41. (Future Past)

_**Thanks to y'all guest people for reviewing!**_

* * *

Itachi didn't say anything, but the gears in his mind were spinning at top speed. It had taken a lot to convince him to participate, and he still gave it a lot of thought. Capturing the girl had been easy. Conducting the required techniques had not.

Especially because the puppet was obsessed with her - she seemed to be a keystone in the plan, so it took a long time to do all the necessary things. It had taken a great toll on all of them, and it was unlikely that they would ever recover. Itachi was almost blind because of the strain. Sakura turned out to have a small genetic condition, that would worsen overtime for the same reasons. The puppet had given up both of its eyes and ability to move.

He had considered the trickery that would be necessary to fool him, and couldn't find a crack in the story that was given to him. Sasuke was safe and sound in Konoha. The puppet couldn't predict his every movement, but it still had knowledge that couldn't be explained otherwise - of secrets no one knew, of things that happened, and others that hadn't… yet.

Details that no one else was aware of. Forbidden jutsu that most of the Uchiha had forgotten about. Predictions that would always come true.

The memories of his little brother.

Stories of how Sasuke Uchiha would end up destroying everything if nothing was changed. And how, in his dying hours, he attempted to fix it in the only way he could: sending a piece of his own soul to the past, latched onto a puppet.

Said puppet's fixation on Sakura Haruno was disturbing, to say the least. He had known that his brother cared about his teammates, but not like this. It seemed to be something that had developed during the many years of sinking dementia after his own death.

The construction's chakra could only be recharged by another human, as it wasn't really alive to begin with, so "Sasuke" had seeked Itachi. It wasn't enough to store all the power that his brother's future self would have, and the majority of it had been worn out by the techniques employed on Sakura.

The puppet was becoming run down, and though Itachi knew that he was dying faster because of recharging it, he was certain that it would decay completely within months anyway.

"We will save everyone this time."


	42. 72:12:44

Seventy-two hours, twelve minutes and forty-four seconds had passed. The jutsu planted on Sakura's mind hadn't sent the signal that indicated it was still working - so the logical assumption is that it had been broken for good.

The plan was complete. Team Seven had come closer than ever, and never parted ways like they originally would. He knew they only had one chance - the puppet had already been corroded by the massive amounts of chakra it stored and employed.

Itachi understood it perfectly now. The idea had never been to cripple Team Seven, but as it turned out, not everything had gone according to it.

Even though the original jutsu to transfer the selected memories of the puppet failed, causing Sakura to become trapped and stuck with a myriad of glimpses of madness, present Sasuke's Sharingan could still enable her to communicate the information she carried. After all, his chakra and the puppet's were practically the same.

It had been an unexpected twist of events, but not necessarily for the worst - her state had brought her whole team closer than ever, beyond their expectations. That was the difference that changed everything; that enabled them to break through.

They should have been unable to help her - Sasuke's Sharingan wasn't strong enough. But with Naruto's added power, with Ino's mind techniques, they did. Sakura's determination to escape helped, too.

The puppet had clearly not expected this, either, but it was pleasantly surprised. It couldn't really be called human anymore. It only served to provide the knowledge and power necessary to show her the future that had to be avoided at all cost, and use the spare energy to strengthen the barrier Itachi had planted.

It would have been nearly impossible to break it, yet Kakashi's team succeeded.

"Her mind might be broken." With the power of a Tailed Beast, most minds would merely crumble into dust, and people driven into coma or dementia. Sakura's had been intact behind her barrier, and she was exceptionally strong, but her spiritual power was that of an ant in comparison.

The puppet remained silent, pondering. Then it spoke, with such determination that the Uchiha wondered how it could be so certain: "she will survive."


	43. 64:00:00

It took Sakura sixty-four hours to wake up, and she blinked in confusion when she did. Her hospital room was tidy, and there were flowers on her bedside table. They had been so carefully arranged, that she knew whoever bought them knew what they were doing. Everything was slightly blurry.

It took her a few seconds to pick up the noise, even though it was very loud. She turned her head to the other side, and noticed it was produced by Naruto, who was snoring deeply and sound asleep in his chair, next to her bed.

Sakura closed her eyes and tried to recall the events that led her to be here. Usually, it was her teammates that ended in a hospital bed, not her. Try as she might, she was unable to. Her head hurt when she did, and she felt like she was about to have a nosebleed.

"N-Naruto?" she asked hesitantly. Her mouth was dry, and the syllables were sloppy on her lips. He didn't react, so naturally she grabbed a glass of water, took a sip and then dumped the rest of it on him.

The fox boy fell off his chair while cursing obscenities, and he seemed quite annoyed until their eyes met.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" She couldn't defend herself, her arms heavy and clumsy, though she did try to punch him in the face. He tackled her into a suffocating hug and rambled on and on about how glad he was to see her awake. Karma also got her good, because Naruto had seemingly forgotten about the water and made her get drenched in it.

She tried to ask him what was going on, she really did, but he muttered something about a bastard and a pervert and dashed off faster than she could blink.


	44. 1 year, 5 months, 2 weeks, 3 days

Sakura actually blushed a little. Not when the rest of her team walked into the room, mind you, but when her memories started to come back. It took a few hours, and she got smothered on her own bed a few times. Ino nearly broke her back, she was sure of it, and Lee almost flooded the room.

"Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?" Then they all looked at each other, blinked, and somehow all the eyes ended up settling on Sasuke, who scowled profoundly and glared at Naruto, who in turn put on his best puppy face while looking at his sensei. Kakashi pretended to be entirely oblivious to it, and prodded each of his male students' backs with a finger, forcing them to move forward, closer to her.

One year, five months, two weeks and three days. Sakura could hardly believe it. A lot of her memories were blank, though there were blurry images of people and sounds passing by her. Moments of clarity granted by the Sharingan, and an embarrassing amount of situations caused by her state.

She pieced the rest together with their help, and she wasn't exactly happy about it all. Needless to say, there were many smiles and tears, and through it all she did manage to hug and punch a few people. Sasuke actually let her do both without complaining - one for missing him, filled with gratefulness, and another for the non-gentlemanly idea of using her body as a puppet.

Naruto claimed loudly that he was actually the hero of the story, because all the best ideas had been his, and adults were useless (except Iruka-sensei, of course), so he was clearly going to be Hokage. Sakura mumbled an apology for dumping water on him, remembering all the times he had been there for her during all those months. She could hear his voice, even if she couldn't react - it had given her hope.

Ino flashed her a feral grin and said that she was going to need to catch up. Her parents weren't there, and she could guess why, so she didn't ask. Later, when alone, she would have time to deal with it. Right now, there was too much going on.

"Also, the Exams are in two and half weeks!"


	45. 02:11:00

**A.N.:** I just wrote this chapter because, in one of my re-reads, I realised it was missing. I felt that it would fit in here very nicely.

* * *

Sakura Haruno remembered many things - she was good at that. Memorisation and analysing were her fortes. Yet she couldn't recall the last time she saw her parents. If anything, asking for directions to their graves seemed awfully awkward. That was how she ended up carrying a bucket filled with flowers, in the midday of a hot Sunday, and trying to make sense of the directions she had been given.

She found them, but the words (anything, from apologies to teary confessions to farewells) wouldn't come to her. So she knelt in front of her parents, and her glassy eyes merely stared ahead for two hours and eleven minutes

"Suicide. They gave up."

She turned around, startled, only to find her two teammates just a few rows behind her. Naruto was scratching the back of his head, and Sasuke was looking at somewhere just between her eyebrows. The girl opened her mouth to question, but then wisely decided that she could figure what he meant.

"...Kakashi and I can home you for now, like we've been doing. So, if there is- if you have a relapse, you can count on us," he continued. Sakura's eyes opened ever so slightly, truly at a loss of words.

"And next week you can sleep at mine, too! I cleaned up!" informed Naruto, giving her a thumbs-up and a toothy grin. "We'll have to train a lot, but we'll kick some ass in the Exams for sure!"

Her lower lip started to tremble, and tears started to prickle at the corner of her eyes. The blurry shapes of her teammates seemed to show worry, stepping forward as if to ensure everything was alright.

Her fast movement caught them both off-guard, but thankfully they didn't lose their balance or shove her away, and returned the hug with different levels of awkwardness (and shared a glance that conveyed 'holy hell, she really got quicker after all that training').

"Thank you."

Hidden from sight, Kakashi smiled.


	46. (The Last)

Itachi Uchiha knew he was going to die very soon. The puppet was lifeless now, though it had given him one last request. One he intended to fulfill before his final breath.

" _You've been in the darkness for too long._ "

He crouched and listened intently for the sound of incoming footsteps. They should be here anytime now.

" _Before you die, you should come out_."

Even if it was merely by reversing what was left of the jutsu, so after his death… she would remember. The whooshing winds of Earth made it difficult to pinpoint the accurate location of the sound, but he knew they were near.

" _Just one last time_."

He wouldn't live to see the sunrise again. Just a few more minutes, and they'd be here.

" _He would appreciate it._ "

He'd had months to mull over the fact that all his sacrifices had been for naught. That Sasuke had broken under the pressure… that he was partially responsible for the path he had taken in his original life. A quest for honor had turned into a madman's demise. How he wished he could make it up to him, that he could reveal the truth.

" _Forgive me, Sasuke._ "

It wouldn't do. He didn't have enough time or energy left to do what was necessary to convince him - he was too weak now. He would die a villain… but that didn't mean he would do nothing to amend his mistakes. He couldn't undo what history had seen repeated, he couldn't fix nor could he heal the one person he loved most.

" _I forgave you a long time ago, nii-san._ "

Itachi refused to feel as helpless as he had been, all these years ago… and resolved to believe in the one thing the puppet had believed in: Sakura Haruno.


	47. 01:27:00

**A.N.:** This is a _**double update o' doom**_ , for my tardiness in posting! I still won't have time to reply to reviews, but thank you all so much for your support!

* * *

Team Seven rounded a corner of the winding path, bickering loudly about the lack of clarity in their map. This "capture the flag" idea of a test for an Exam was stupid. They had been ambushed, trapped and attacked four times, and barely an hour and twenty-seven minutes had passed. It didn't help that the ratio of flags to participants was three to one. And coincidentally, teams didn't need to be whole to win.

When they first stepped into a sensory deprivation genjutsu, they thought it was just another trap. Suddenly, Sasuke went stiff and muttered something that neither of his teammates could catch.

Their explanation emerged from the shadows in the shape of a man that the youngest Uchiha knew very well.

"Hello, little brother."


	48. (Sunrise)

Sasuke's bloody hands fumbled with the contents of the medical kit. His two teammates were unconscious - they had done anything they could to support him in this fight. It was his, and they wouldn't try to take that away, but that didn't mean they left him alone. It seemed hopeless at first, because no one came to help them. He was almost certain they would die, but they refused to abandon him.

It took all they had in them. He wasn't sure how they managed to do it, but they won. Itachi had fallen for one of their traps - he wasn't as nigh-invincible as he appeared to be, but very, very close. They must have struck a vital point, because he started coughing blood and bleeding out. It got progressively worse, until Sasuke managed to land a final blow.

He had been cornered. He thought he was going to die. Itachi was closing in, both of them at the end of their reserves. One last kunai strike saved his life. And here he was, trying to make sure his own teammates didn't die. Naruto was already half awake, but Sakura didn't have the endurance of either of them.

She lived, just barely. They reached the tower with three flags and a day to spare, and she was immediately snatched away from their hands by a team of medics. They were questioned about Itachi intensively (until the Konoha representatives intervened), because their sorry state spoke volumes of the kind of fight they'd been through.

They didn't pass the Exams - Iwa didn't value their teamwork like Konoha would, only a shinobi's will to fight until the end. None of them were willing to die for a mere test, especially when it was obvious that the hosting village's shinobi were out for blood, trying to cut everyone's chance at forfeiting.

They got back home without a new rank but with high spirits. Through the rumors spread from the medics, Sasuke now knew that Itachi had been severely ill. Dying, even - they only accelerated the process by a less than an hour. Maybe that gave them the edge they needed. He was still surprised when Sakura pulled him and Naruto apart to tell a story he never expected.

"They forced me to keep it a secret…"

* * *

 **A.N.:** _Why did Itachi have to die?_

Fast answer: I'm evil.

Detailed answer: let's consider the scale of the jutsus employed on Sakura and the strain they put on Itachi constantly and for extended periods of time.

1]Not explicitly said, but Sasuke's 'puppet' had _Sharinnegan_ eyes (it's implied that he became so powerful that he killed _everyone_ **and** _doomed his whole timeline_ ). And yet it lost them due to the jutsu. That's a fuckload of chakra.

2]It took days/weeks to complete, and even then (perfomed by two Uchiha prodigies and the puppet of a Sasuke who had the powers of a god), it _failed_.

3]Its sheer complexity made it impossible to understand to _anyone alive_.

4]He recharged the puppet several times for months.

5]He held a connection to Sakura for slightly less time, but it was still a strain (he definitely felt it when the Kyuubi rammed through the 'wall').

6]He was weak enough that slightly buffed + teamworking Part 1 NaruSasuSaku could kill him _without_ the Kyuubi popping up. Also suggested: he was blind.

Yep, he literally had no strength to do anything but lift the jutsu and pretend to fight for a few moments. I know some of you would want him to live, but this felt like the logical outcome, and here's why for those who want to know. He's good, fellas, but he's no god (sadly).


	49. (Zenith and Eclipse)

The memorial stone stood silently in front of his eyes. There was a name that should be there, but would never be.

 _"He was a hero… but overall, a shinobi. He chose the shadows, you need to understand."_

Sakura had told them everything.

 _"He was always watching over you… trying to keep you alive."_

Secrets she had been forced to keep quiet about - only after Itachi's death was she able to speak them out.

 _"Even if it was painful for you both. Even if it meant that he'd sacrifice his whole self and his life, he did it out of love: for a greater good… and for you. Always."_

It had been the only thing the Uchiha could do for his little brother, in his last hours: to put in her hands the task of revealing the truth, as he knew that she would always stand by Sasuke's side.

 _"I saw the future that would await you, and so did he. Can you forgive? Forgive us… forgive us all._

She had stayed even after seeing what he could become, entirely willing to give her life for him in the fight against Itachi. There had been no doubts in his mind about this.

There was a fierce, blinding pool of anger in Sasuke's gut. The boy felt himself isolated and breaking down, after finding out. He didn't know what to think or do, but he definitely wanted to be alone. His Cursed Seal hadn't given him this much trouble in months.

 _"It's better this way. If I didn't tell you now, someone else would- err, will? Someone evil."_

He felt betrayed, as if everyone had been lying to him all along. No, that was exactly what had been done. Not many knew the truth, but the feeling was the same. He knew this pain.

 _"They said you would react badly… but please, don't do anything dumb."_

He left, because he wasn't sure he could hold it all in. He hadn't felt this way since the massacre.

 _"It's for a better future… There are so many dangers ahead. We need to stay strong… together."_

He didn't know- there was so much anger and confusion and hurt-

"Hey, don't think you can run away from me!" It was Naruto, who had obnoxiously managed to track him down. Perhaps thanks to Sakura's newfound insight.

Much to his surprise, he kept charging even after a kunai was thrown in his direction. He was grinning like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Naruto, he had learned, was akin to a force of nature, because once he set a goal he just wouldn't stop until he achieved it, and no one would be able to get in his way for long. Even his chakra felt as powerful and all-encompassing as the summer's midday sun.

And that was how Sasuke saw himself pulled into a brawl.

"If we didn't let Sakura-chan be alone, you're not gonna be any different! You're not escaping like that from us, believe it!"

There was nothing he could do to prove him wrong.

* * *

 **A.N.:** The title is a play on Naruto and Sasuke's opposed natures (many times compared to sun/moon & light/dark). If both their natures are at zenith in this chapter... eclipse. A given moment in time in which they overlap.


	50. (00:00:00)

They sat together in their old training ground. It had been a couple of weeks since their last D-rank together, as a Chūnin graduation joke. Sort of like a good luck charm (poor, poor Tora). The genin of Team Seven had all been promoted in the latest Chūnin Exam held in Konoha, only a few days prior.

It had been just a year since Itachi's death, but it felt like an eternity. Sakura had started to study under Tsunade's tutelage, Naruto had been offered a trip under Jiraiya's wing once more, and Sasuke saw himself roped into working for the Police. Not that it had anything to do with Ino grounding him for knocking out her boyfriend. Nope, not at all.

Nevermind the fact that he and Lee had been sparring; the woman was as fierce as a lioness and crafty like any other ninja. His activation and use of the Sharingan had been instinctual, when he saw himself pressed hard in his defenses. In Ino's opinion, he broke the rules because Lee was too good for him, and now he was going to pay dearly (in an ironic manner).

He felt the urge to shudder. Those two were terrifying.

It sort of impressed him, really. He would be stuck in the village for at least a few months, and now that his teammates were moving on with their own projects, they had decided to meet up one last time.

They walked to the gates together, side by side. Naruto assured them he would write letters, and Sakura was almost sure that her newfound wonky schedules still left place for meeting up. Kakashi, the hypocrite, called them sentimental fools.

It was also worth mentioning that Hinata managed to trip her way into Naruto's path to give him a parting gift. He grinned, thanking her profusely, and she got so red that she nearly fainted. The hug just happened to be the last nail in the coffin.

All three felt like they were moving on from a chapter in their lives. It was likely that once their individual training was up, they would be reformed as a specialised cell. They worked too well together. However, now was the time to part ways and improve on their own.

Sakura had told them of the dangers ahead, and they would need to become much more to face them. The warning didn't reach deaf ears: the sacrifices that brought them here would not be in vain. It was not with heavy hearts, however, that they walked together.

Lively banter accompanied them until the last moment, and their indomitable wills kept them from feeling dreariness at the challenges that awaited them. With different degrees of courage or bravery, they resolved to move forward.

"'til I have to kick your ass again, Sasuke! See ya, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved, walking away from the gates of the village. The pinkette waved as well and smiled, and Sasuke just gave a gruff nod of acknowledgement.

Naruto had shown himself to be unstoppable. His hope- no, unyielding faith in Sakura's recovery hadn't let either of his teammates doubt for a second that she wouldn't be okay. He was resilient as hell, and the best friend anyone could have.

Kakashi conveniently vanished as soon as the fox boy was out of sight. He was every bit of mysterious, lazy and fucked up as he had been before this whole debacle. However, the old dog had shown his teeth when it came to defending his team; he did everything he could for Sakura, and took after Naruto's ideas to give Sasuke the training he desired.

Without Naruto and Kakashi's support, he could only imagine the task of saving Sakura as hellish. Impossible, even. With them, it had been a great learning adventure. Now, however, something else had his attention.

Sasuke waited for the inevitable - Sakura was fiddling nervously. He had spent so long looking for any signs of body language in her, that he did it even now. It wasn't that he was a creepy stalker, no: she just was embarrassingly easy to read.

With Itachi's jutsu completely gone from her mind, she was on her own again. She was herself once more... with all that entailed.

It seemed like everything had gone back to normal.

"Um… do you want to... err, spar?"

Sasuke blinked owlishly at his shyly blushing teammate.

"...Sure."

Time, however, left nothing unchanged.

* * *

 _...though otherwise, life would be no fun._

* * *

 **A.N.:** 'ere we are, finally! Wohoo~! I honestly had no idea you people would like this story so much, but now I am glad I decided to post it, as it seems it has given a lot of you a very good time :)

I'm aware that some straws are left loose - but that is the essence of _Time._ Feel free to make of them what you wish to (but if you want to ask anything, you can do so! If it's something I think should be clear, I'll clarify). Also, y'all are also free to relive what it was to see Itachi's progression from villain to hero in the original - it's pretty much what I pulled on you here, so ha!

The title also signifies that we've come a full circle in this adventure, and now it's time to start a new one...

Thanks for every little ounce of support that you've shown me, y'all have a good day.

Cheerps!


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